UNMASKING THE STRUGGLE

The famed aragalaya is in need of a charm offensive if it is to remain relevant to the call for change

Sri Lanka’s aragalaya was something else; it caught the imagination of people from all walks of life when the youth took to the streets to demonstrate against the state of failure of what has become a nation that is corrupt to the core.

In fact, a week before gen Z occupied Galle Face on 9 April, thousands of Sri Lankans across the island came out of their homes during ‘curfew weekend,’ which came to be known as the genesis of a movement that soon caught the imagination of the nation and many others beyond its shores.

Some 12 weeks later however, there’s been a visible loss of momentum; and for those of us who were convinced that this was an opportunity of a lifetime to start afresh, it’s suddenly looking like a pipe dream rather than a dream come true.

At the root of the possible causes for this waning of hope are a number of correlated developments and a realisation that the messaging lacks focus – so much so that our politicians continue to pretend that the call for change isn’t directed at all of them!

First, there were self-confessed reports of the likes of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) staking a claim of co-ownership of the movement along with parallel – and not necessarily peaceful – marches by the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF), which cast a shadow over the aragalaya’s apolitical and harmonious beginnings.

As for violence, it is widely believed that the arson and looting of many government politicians in the aftermath of the ugly attacks on peaceful protesters outside Temple Trees and at GoGotaGama on 9 May were carried out by organised mobsters – and there’s been a stark refusal on the part of the movement to officially condemn the horror that was unleashed on that fateful night.

In the midst of these twin evils, there is a palpable sense of confusion over whether the call is for the president to resign along with the 225 parliamentarians, in which case the reality is that Sri Lankans want another bite at the cherry – meaning to cast their votes all over again.

But should this call be heard and elections held, the million rupee question is whether the people will have high calibre candidates to vote for so as to avoid a repetition of the past whereby they’re compelled to cast their votes for the lesser of two evils, which would inevitably mean a return to the status quo!

So yes, there are contradictions galore; there are burning questions to be answered; and most of all, there’s a need for leadership to emerge from beyond the walls of the house along with a road map to achieve the noble goals of the people’s struggle – viz. to sustain the admirable success of uniting a nation like never before and narrow the goalposts of our game of corruption so that zero tolerance is the end goal.

May we see an end to political elitism sooner rather than later. The ship of state can no longer carry the weight of political skulduggery, not to mention daylight robbery.

– Editor-in-Chief